How does a nonprofit know whether its programs are actually creating the change it hopes to achieve? Program evaluation can sometimes feel overly technical or out of reach, but it is ultimately about learning: getting clearer about what an organization expects its work to accomplish, gathering evidence about what is happening, and using what it learns to strengthen its programs.
In this episode of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, host Carol Hamilton breaks down two tools at the heart of this work—the theory of change and logic model—and explains how nonprofits can use them to make their assumptions explicit, build greater alignment among staff and board members, and connect individual programs to the organization's larger mission.
She walks through:
Rather than treating evaluation as something nonprofits do simply to satisfy funders, Carol encourages leaders to keep it manageable, focus on what they genuinely want to learn, and use the results to improve programs and tell a stronger story about their impact.
Episode Highlights
[00:03:00] Moving Your Theory of Change From Implicit to Explicit
[00:04:00] Logic Models Are More Than a Funder Requirement
[00:05:00] Building Shared Understanding About Impact
[00:06:00] Connecting Programs to the Bigger Picture
[00:07:00] Making Logic Model Development a Collective Process
[00:08:00] Mapping Inputs, Activities, and Outcomes
[00:09:00] Testing the Assumptions Behind Your Programs
[00:10:00] Moving From the Model to Measurement
[00:11:00] Choosing a Realistic Approach to Evaluation
[00:12:00] Keeping Evaluation Manageable
[00:13:00] Using Evaluation for Learning and Communication
[00:14:00] Creating a Streamlined Evaluation System
[00:15:00] Starting With the Organizational Theory of Change.
[00:16:00] Designing for Staff Capacity and Sustainability
[00:17:00] Distinguishing Outputs From Outcomes
[00:18:00] Gathering Evidence Without Having to Prove Causation
[00:19:00] Remembering That the Map Is Not the Territory
[00:20:00] Using Evaluation to Build Alignment and Tell Your Story
About your podcast host:
Carol Hamilton, principal of Grace Social Sector Consulting, helps nonprofits become more strategic and effective through inclusive strategic planning, evaluation design, and organizational assessment. With over 30 years of experience, she brings a practical, human-centered approach that helps organizations align around clear priorities and take meaningful action toward their mission. Her Shared Action Strategic Planning Framework moves groups from shared language to shared understanding, shared vision, shared priorities to shared action.
When she is not working with nonprofits to improve their strategy and alignment, you can find her reading a good book, making diary comics, having a dance party in the kitchen, swimming, biking or kayaking on the Anacostia River.
Be in Touch:
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